Board & Beyond – Katarina Cavala Andelic: How to Scale an International B2B Brand Strategy Without Losing Alignment

 

Katarina Cavala Andelic is the Head of Marketing at Smartvatten, European tech champion for water efficiency. Smartvatten has been working closely with Aava & Bang on a wide range of marketing initiatives since 2022.

For me, the most critical element in developing an effective brand strategy is ensuring that it is genuinely connected to the business strategy. A brand cannot be developed as a separate marketing exercise. It must reflect where the company is going, what it wants to be known for and why customers should choose it.

In an international B2B organisation, clarity is particularly important. The offering may be technically complex, involve several decision-makers and differ between markets. A strong brand strategy must make that complexity easier to understand without oversimplifying the value the company provides.

It also needs internal alignment. If management, sales, product and marketing describe the company differently, even a strong visual identity will not create a consistent brand.

Scaling a brand internationally brings specific friction points. One of the main lessons I have learned is that consistency does not mean making everything identical. The core identity and value proposition should remain recognisable across markets, but the way they are communicated may need to change.

Different markets have different levels of awareness, customer priorities, regulations and buying behaviours. A message that performs well in one country may not be relevant in another. Local teams therefore need enough flexibility to make the brand meaningful in their markets, but within a framework that prevents fragmentation.

The key is to define what is non-negotiable and where local adaptation is encouraged. Without that distinction, international branding either becomes too centrally controlled or too inconsistent.

In an environment where business lines are complex, continuous brand development requires both clear governance and room to evolve. The organisation needs a shared foundation—positioning, messaging, visual principles and ownership—but it also needs a practical process for applying and updating that foundation.

At Smartvatten, we have learned that brand development is not completed when a new strategy or visual identity is approved. The real work begins when it needs to be implemented across websites, presentations, sales materials, products, offices and customer communication.

Clear ownership is essential. Without defined owners and agreed priorities, old and new materials quickly begin to coexist, and the customer receives an inconsistent impression of the company.

The B2B environment also adds its own challenges. A common pitfall is attempting to communicate everything the company does at once. B2B companies are often proud of their expertise and technical capabilities, but this can lead to messaging that is internally accurate yet difficult for customers to understand.

Another challenge is internal fragmentation. Different business units, markets and product teams may develop their own terminology and materials. Over time, the company can begin to look like several different brands.

This is where an expert partnership can be significantly helpful. The partner can provide an external perspective, identify inconsistencies and help translate internal complexity into a clearer customer-facing story. However, the partner also needs to understand the business deeply enough to challenge the organisation constructively rather than simply making the communication look better.

Today, an international B2B company should expect more than execution from its marketing partner. A strong partner should be proactive, commercially aware and comfortable using data to recommend what the company should do next.

This includes challenging briefs, identifying gaps, prioritising activities and being transparent when something is not working. Reporting alone is not enough; companies need partners who can explain what the findings mean and convert them into a concrete action plan.

Marketing partners should also understand how brand, content, technology, customer data, and demand generation work together. The strongest partnerships are built when the external partner acts as an extension of the internal team while still bringing an independent perspective and specialist expertise.

My top 3 tips for managing brand strategy:

1. Align the brand strategy directly with business strategy and drive internal consistency. Ensure that management, sales, product, and marketing all describe the value proposition in a unified way.

2. Define the non-negotiables, but allow room for local adaptation. Establish a clear, uncompromised core framework while granting local teams the flexibility to tailor messaging to their market's specific needs.

3. Choose an expert partner who constructively challenges your business. Look for a partner who deeply understands your business, helps translate complex offerings into clear stories, and uses data to drive actionable strategy.